1. Reservation of Copyright
A claim of copyright protection is made on portions of the description in this patent document. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other rights.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a graphical user interface (GUI) operative on a workstation or computer system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a GUI navigation system for navigating a list stored on a database in a network or computer system.
3. Description of the Related Art
Present-day computerized business systems typically include a number of computers or workstations connected in a network configuration and tied to a database. One of the tasks of the computerized business system is to supply information from the database to multiple system users so that the users can organize information from the database into a useful form. A substantial amount of planning is necessary to successfully market a product and information from the database supplies the foundation for this planning. Planning has become highly efficient through the usage of computerized systems for arranging database information in a useful format. Various procedures and techniques have continually improved the efficiency of planning. One system enhancement that has aided planning efficiency is the usage of database navigation systems for efficiently identifying and accessing useful information.
The production and marketing of a product typically requires skillful planning to achieve success in the marketplace. A useful planning tool is a product navigation system, which is typically called a workflow system. The product navigation system tracks all aspects of a product's introduction and sale including forecasting, design and development, production, marketing, sales and many others. Thus, product planning is highly complex and involves accessing the database to access highly diverse types of information.
One problem that arises in the usage of a product navigation system is the large amount and diversity of information that is to be arranged. What is needed is a technique for accessing a large number of very different types of information from a top-level viewpoint using an efficiently low number of selections or keystrokes.
Another problem that arises in the usage of a product navigation system is the large amount of information that must be entered to create a product record. What is needed is a method and system that reduces the work necessary to create a product record.